Halloween shows and a school reunion

TODAY'S TV

October 28, 1994|By David Bianculli | David Bianculli,Special to The Sun

It's not exactly "Night of the Living Dead" or anything, but in addition to the usual Halloween-themed series episodes tonight, there's a prime-time guest appearance by Phyllis Diller.

* "Family Matters" (8-8:30 p.m., Channel 13) -- The trick, in this Halloween episode, is that most of it takes place as a vampire story, with the Winslow parents as vampires and Urkel (Jaleel White) as a castle guest in danger of joining the undead. An eternal Urkel? Now THAT'S scary, boys and girls. ABC.

* "Tales From the Crypt" (8-9 p.m., Channel 45) -- Fox is referring to the first of tonight's two "Crypt" stories as a "Fox original," but that just means it's a non-repeat on Fox: The episode, with Kevin Dillon as a fraternity bully who gets his comeuppance from an unlikely source, premiered long ago on HBO. The second episode stars Malcolm McDowell as a modern vampire. Fox.

* "The Montel Williams Show" (3-4 p.m., Channel 2) -- Williams discusses his recent 20th high school reunion in Baltimore, where he surprised Andover High School classmates by showing up. Reunions are the theme of the show. "If it wasn't for my show, I don't think anyone would have recognized me," he says. "I had a full head of hair back then."

* "Maryland State of Mind" (9-10 p.m., Channels 22, 67) -- This quarterly series, produced by Maryland Public Television with host Scott Simon, explores the frontiers of knowledge, with the University of Maryland as its point of entry. PBS.

* "Homicide: Life on the Street" (10-11 p.m., Channel 2) -- This is the concluding episode of the three-part season-opening murder mystery, with Pembleton (Andre Braugher) finally getting a suspect into the interrogation room. NBC.